GSP's striking isn't that great. His ground and pound is better, but he has very little KO power. But even if he did, deciding to go head to head versus the best stand up fighter in UFC history would be a very bad strategy. I would give him more chances if that fighter would be a WW as well, but the guy is naturally about 45lbs more and has beaten better strikers than GSP with ease.

Silva has already faced very tough and strong wrestlers. GSP is smarter than them, and has quicker footwork, but I think don't that'll be enough to beat Silva. I just don't. And I don't think there's anything as a perfect fight that lasts 5rounds. Not in today's UFC.

If he fights Hendricks, his game plan will be similar to the one he used versus Condit. I don't think he wants to swing punches with anybody that has real KO power.

I don't disagree about Silva. I'm just not sure GSP has much of that killer instinct that you see in some fighters. So, even if GSP were to fight a good, disciplined fight against Silva, I wouldn't bet much that GSP would be able to end it on a single mistake by Silva. And then, in a 5 round fight, chances are that GSP would at some point make the kind of mistake that Silva feasts on.

About Hendricks, I also think you're probably right. It's just what GSP does and no one has been able to stop him, aside from the surprise Serra punch. Seems kind of dumb to change it against one more wrestler with a heavy hand. But as much as I want to see GSP keep winning, a striking display that carries the win is what I want to see as a fan even more.

In case I was unclear before, I do not advocate GSP getting into a pure striking match with Silva. To me, that is very far from the type of perfect fight he would need to fight to have a chance to win. But against a Hendricks, I think GSP could surprise with his striking, partly because it would be unexpected and partly, I suspect, because other WW fighters might not have the respect for his striking that they ought to.

I guess what it comes down to is maybe a difference of perception (or speculation, at least on my part). While I agree that GSP has not shown himself in a good while to be a very dangerous striker, he is still effective, and I think capable of being more dangerous. I think the perception of his limitation as a power or damage striker owes a lot to his gameplans and overall conservative approach. In other words, at least some of that limitation, I suspect, is self-imposed.